John trumbull



(No Model.)

J. TRUMBULL. PUZZLE.

No. 438,661. PatentedOot. 21, 1890,

I VENT R MVM a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN TRUMBULL, OF VALPARAISO, CHILI.

PUZZLE.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 438,661, datedOctober 21, 1890.

Application filed .T une 26, 1890. Serial No. 356,886. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN TRUMBULL, acitizen of Chili, residing atValparaiso, Chili, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPuzzles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to puzzles; and it consists in a certain apparatusand in the method of manipulating it to attain a given result, ashereinafter set forth and claimed.

The apparatus comprises a series of objects threaded loosely on a cordand bearing numbers, letters, or other distinguishing devices orcharacteristics. The end to be accomplished, which constitutes thepuzzle to be solved,is to transpose the order in which the objectsfollow one another without removing them or any of them from the cord.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of one form of my apparatus.Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the method of solving the puzzle, andFig. 3 is a view of one of the objects detached.

At one end of a cord A, of any suitable length, size, and material, ismade a stop, consisting of a ball or button B, a knot in the cord, orany other suitable equivalent therefor. The other end of the cord ispreferably provided with astiff tip C-such as a bit of wirethough thisis not essential. Strung upon the cord is a series of objects D D D2D3,any number of which may be used. The objects may be of any suitablesize, shape, and material. They are provided with some distinguishingcharacteristic, so as to be readily selected. Thus they may simplydiffer in shape-such as a globe, a cube, a cylinder, a cone-or they maybe of different colors and of the same or different shapes; or, as shownin the drawings, they may be all of the same shape and bear distinctivefigures, letters, or other devices, which, in the case of globularobjects, maybe placed upon iiattened surfaces d, if desired. In eachinstance the objects are perforated by a preferably straight hole d ofsufficient size to permit three or four parts of the cordA to be easilypassed through it at the same time.

I prefer to use four objects and to place upon them figures to form thedates of the years. Thus in Fig. l the objects are so arranged that thefigures, read from the top downward, make the date 1890. The other facesd of the objects are provided with other figures, as indicated.

Suppose it is desired to transpose the objects so as to have the figuresread 1891. To do this without removing the objects from the cordconstitutes the amusing and puzzling feature of my invention. It isaccomplished by doubling the cord at c and passing the end back throughall the objects, doubling again at a2, and passing it through .theobject containing the last figure 1 of the desired date-say DZ-doublingagain at a3 and co4 and passing it through the object D3, containing thethird figure 9 of the date, then carrying the part d5 around the obj ectD2 and passing it through D and D, which bear the second and firstgures, respectively, of the date 1891. Upon pulling apart the two endsof the cord it will straighten out, and the objects will be found to betransposed into the desired order.

By observing the method specified above any desired arrangement can beeffected, rst putting the tip C back through all the objects and thenthreading it through them in the reverse order of that in which it isdesired they shall come, taking care to pass the cord from below upward.

It will be seen that a judicious selection of figures will enable one tomake a large number of dates. The four objects will readily accommodatefour figures each, or sixteen in all. This provides for the ten digitsand duplicates of six of them. By the laws of permutation such aseriesof figures can be rearranged in differing groups of four some sevenhundred and twenty-nine times. By increasing the number of objects orthe number of figures on them an almost endless variety of changes canbe made.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire t0 Secureby Letters Patent, is-

IOO

l. A puzzle consisting of a series of distinetivelyeharaeterized objectseaeh having a perforation and a cord upon which said objects are strung,one end of said eord being provided With a stop and the other having arigid portion adapted to be passed through said perforations, whereby bya Certain manipulation of the cord the relative order of the objects canbe altered without removing them from the oord, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with the cord A, havng the button B at one end and atip C at the other end, of the series of objects D D D2 D3, havingperforations (Z, through which 15 said oord is passed, and of suoientsize to permit it to be easily threaded through them more than once,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature iu presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN TRUMBULL. Vitnesses:

JAMES MCLEAN, P. SML. KELLAR.

